Cap feeding and applying mechanism



June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY EFAL 2,336,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 23, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORSQ H T Y 0 AE D. K 5 LM I- m 0" W M Y B June 3,1958 v c. 1.. DAY ETAL 2,836,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 25, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 2 CARL LL24) 8 7: FREDERICK E. FAUTH ATTORNEYS.

INVENTORS.

June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY ETAL I 2,836,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 25, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN'IURS:

CARL L. DAY 8 FREDERICK E FAUTH ATTORNEYS.

June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY ETAL 2,836,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 25, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 4 wmika ww ATTORNEYS.

June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY ETAL CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM 1.11 1 0pk E w g Wpm m L w fl 8 U r F f2 2 w M: m m iv F IL, m 5 5 w w M g f vhog" S 1 June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY HAL 2,836,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 25, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 6 Milli! June 3, 1958 c. 1.. DAY ET AL 2,836,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 Original Filed June23, 1952 INVENTORS.

s H w w m 8 A 0 V .m 4E .x m

A 0F 1 PM Y B Illillllllk June 3, 1958 c. L. DAY ETAL 2,336,947

CAP FEEDING AND APPLYING MECHANISM Original Filed June 23, 1952 8Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTORSI ATTORNEYS.

United States CAP FEEDING AND AFPLYING MECHANlSh/i Carl L. Day andFrederick E. Fauth, Baltimore, Md, as-

signors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, inc, dalth more, Md, a corporationof New York 27 Claims. (Cl. 53-314) The present invention relates to acap feeding and applying mechanism and, more particularly, to anapparatus for feeding and applying threaded type caps to containerstravelling in line on a conveyor after which the caps are secured to thecontainers by any suitable cap securing mechanism.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 295,024, filedJune 23, 1952, now Patent No. 2,734,672, which discloses a cap securingapparatus particularly adapted for use with the present invention.However, it is within the scope of the present invention that the capfeeding and applying mechanism disclosed in this application may be usedto feed caps of the non-threaded type to any type of cap securingmechanism.

Numerous cap feeding and applying mechanisms heretofore have beenproposed, but such prior apparatus have not been of optimum efliciencyin feeding and applying caps to the tops of containers moving at highspeeds.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is the provision of anapparatus which will feed caps properly faced at high speeds tocontainers moving at high speeds.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap supply meansof such design that an adequate supply of properly facing caps will beavailable for an associated capping means.

Still another object of the present invention, and ancillary to thepreceding object, is to provide container actuated means for controllingthe supply of caps to a capping chute.

It is well-known practice to supply caps to a chute from a hopper bymeans of a rotary feeding element. However, in order to compensate forcaps facing in the wrong direction, which are returned to the hopper, itis necessary that the feeding element supply caps to the chute at a ratewhich sometimes may exceed the rate at which caps are removed from thechute outlet. This may result in the feeding element supplying so manycaps to the chute that caps will be forced from the outlet or capapplying end of the chute.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of novel design toprevent caps facing in the wrong direction from reaching the cap supplychute.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cap chute of suchdesign that it readily can be adjusted for various sizes of caps.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cap chute and ameans to eliminate caps facing in the wrong direction and both of whichare simultaneously adjustable for caps of various sizes.

Most packing plants find it necessary at frequent intervals to changethe size of caps when different size containers are being handled. Itheretofore has been proposed to make the cap chutes and the cap applyingmeans adjustable for various sizes of caps. However, such adjustmentshave been difficult to make, particularly where the plant operatesaccording to seasonal requirements and much of the labor employed isrelatively unskilled.

We have found that the most satisfactory manner of "atent '2 adjusting acapping and applying mechanism for various sizes of caps is to includewith the apparatus a number of cap applying mechanisms of like type,each one being designed to handle a different size cap but all of whichreadily can be mounted upon the machine frame for co-' operation withthe adjustable capping chute.

Another object of the invention is to-provide a cap chute and capapplying mechanism which are so related that the cap applying mechanismreadily can be replaced by a similar device and the chute adjusted whencaps of another size are to be handled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cap fee-ding meansincluding a magnetic disc to move the caps from a hopper to a chute,with the chute and disc so arranged with relation to each other that thecaps readily will be removed from the disc and delivered to the chute.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in verticalsection of a machine associated with the cap feeding and applyingmechanism of the present invention. The views omits the upper portion ofthe hopper and chute of the cap feeding and applying mechanism.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1, the viewincluding dot-and-dash line showings of portions of the cap feeding andapplying mechanism omitted from Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the cap hopper and cap feeding meansindicated in dotted lines in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view of the cap hopper and feeding means looking towardFigure 3 from the right. Portions of the end wall of the hopper arebroken away.

Figure 5 is a detail elevation of a cap shipping plate included in thecap chute illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the line 1414 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view on the line 1515 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a detail of the upper portion of the structure shown inFigure 3, the view looking toward Figure 3 in the direction of the arrow16 of Figure 3.

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a cap applying device included in theinvention, portions of the device being broken away on the lines xx andyy of Figure 10 to show how the device is mounted with respect to thelower ends of the cap chute guide rails.

Figure 10 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure 9, that is,the cap applying element and the lower portion of the cap chute.

Figure 11 is a transverse section on the line 12a12a of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an elevation of the outfeed end of the cap applyingelement, that is, a view looking toward Figures 9 and 10 from the left.

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view through the cap applyingmechanism.

Figure 14 is a bottom elevation of the cap applying elements of Figures9, 10 and 12. The view omits the chute bottom wall but shows the chuteguide rails.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The construction and operation of the apparatusillustrated in this application as embodying the invention generally maybe described as follows:

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the container sealing apparatus includes abase casing or housing 50 including an upper surface or work table 52across which the top run of a straight line conveyor 54 moves filledjars l or other containers from the left to the right in Figures 1 eearse a and 2. The containers J first will move through a steam tunnelgenerally indicated so that at least a subsiantial portion of air withinthe headspace of the container will be displaced by steam. Steam is alsosupplied through a diffuser 56 positioned adjacent the tunnel exit, capapplying means and cap securing mechanism 74. The apparatus and methodthus far described for closing a container under vacuum or the like isthe same as described in our copending application Serial No. 405,194,new U. S. Patent No. 2,768,487, filed herewith, which is also a divisionof the previously mentioned application Serial No. 295,024, filed June23, 1952.

As is generally indicated in Figures land 13, immediately after acontainer J leaves the steam tunnel 55, a cap C provided with threadengaging lugs L will be loosely applied to the container by a capapplying element 58 positioned above conveyor 54 and at the lower end ofa cap chute 60.

'The caps to be applied to the containers are delivered to the chute 60-from a cap hopper 62 supported above the remainder of the machine asgenerally indicated in Figures 2 and 3. Hopper 62 is provided at one endwith a cap feeding disc 64 including magnetic inserts which cause capsto adhere to the planar face of the disc. Disc 64 is rotatable about asubstantially horizontal axis to move caps upwardly in acounter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 4 and toward the upperend or inlet of chute 60. Disc '64 is driven by a motor 66 (Figure 3)which is so controlled by a container-actuated switch operating arm 68within steam tunnel 55 (Figure 1) that cap feeding disc 64 only will bedriven when containers are moving through the tunnel.

Referring to Figure 4, the cap feeding disc 64 has a discriminator ordetector device 70 associated therewith to remove from the disc capswhich are facing in the wrong direction, such caps beingcaused to dropback into the hopper. In addition, a spring stripper arm 71 secured tothe hopper wall prevents upward movement of superimposed caps and a camor block 72 rigid with the hopper and overlying an edge of the rotarypath of disc 64 insures that the circular line of caps on the disc willnot become so long as to exert too much pressure upon the line of capsin chute 60.

The cap chute 60 (Figures 3 and 4) is readily adjustable to handle runsof caps of difierent sizes and the cap applying element .58 (Figures 9to 13) is of such design that it readily can be removed from the lowerend of chute '68 and a similar elementattached to the chute for handlingcaps of a diiferent size.

After the cap 'C is loosely positioned on the container J, the containerand cap will be conveyed to the cap securing mechanism generallyindicated by the numeral 74. The-c ap securing mechanism 74 includes acap presser 76 provided with a horizontally and transversely disposedroller 78 at its infeed end and two horizontal and tandem arrangedspring-loaded bars 80 and 82. Roller 78 so cooperates with the cap C asto cause bar 80 to smartly cap or impact the cap to press it downwardlywith respect to the container. During movement of container J beneaththe cap applying element 58 as well as during its travel through thesecuring mechanism 74, the body of the container I will be engaged andheld against rotation by horizontally arranged and opposed endless belts(not shown). 7

The cap securing mechanism 74 also includes a pair of unthreadingmembers 86 and a pair of threading rolls 92. The cap securing mechanismthus far described will be found in more detail in application SerialNo. 295,024,

filed June 23, 1952. As will "be evident to one skilled inthe art, a capsecuring mechanism other than the cap securing mechanism 74 may be usedin combination with the'cap feeding and applying means of the presentinvention. w

Cap feeding hopper and agitator assembly The cap feeding hopper 62including the disc 64 is illustrated in Figures 2 to 8. Referring toFigure 3, hopper 62 is of trough-like shape and is so formed and mountedon the superstructures by a flange 275 that its bottom is downwardlyinclined toward the disc 64.- Referring to Figure 4, which shows thehopper 62 as viewed from the right of Figure 3 along the axis of thedisc 64, the hopper includes a vertical front wall 276, an inwardlyinclined lower wall 277 and, rearwardly thereof, a curved wall 278extending upwardly to the rear top edge 279 of the hopper. The rear topedge 279 and the forward top edge 280 (Figure 3) normally lie in ahorizontal plane. The right-hand end (Figure 3) of the hopper is closedby a wall 281 shown partly broken away in Figure 4. At its left-handendin Figure 3, hopper 62 includes an agitator housing generallydesignated 285 which generally conforms to the transverse section of thehopper 62 but includes a vertical wall 286 which covers the dial 64 fromleft to right in Figure 4 to edges designated 287a and 287b extendingfrom top to bottom of the hopper just rearwardly of the hoppercenter-line. Hence, a vertically arranged dial contact opening 287 inhousing 285 is provided at the right-hand side (Figure 4) of the hopper62. The caps deposited within the hopper 62 may gravitate into housing285.

Disc 64 is fixed to a shaft 290 which extends through a journal 291 inagitator housing 285 and has its opposite end journalled in a boss 292formed at the upper edge of the hopper end wall 281. Disc 64 is providedwith a shallow peripheral groove in which a belt 294 is fitted, the beltbeing driven by. a pulley-device 295 fixed to the shaft of the motor 66.The pulley device 295 may be adjustably mountdfor axial movement uponthe motor shaft and provided with pulleys of different sizes to therebypermit the speed of rot'ation of disc 64 to be varied. V 7

Beyond boss 292, shaft 296 carries a sprocket wheel which drives asprocketchain 296 which also engages a sprocket wheel 297 mounted on asecond shaft 29 8 which, as shown in Figure 3, extends parallel toshaft290. Sprocket wheel 297 is drivingly c'onnectedto'shaft 298 by anoverload release clutch299. At its. end ad jacent disc 64, shaft 298 hasa-hub. fixed thereto provided with a plurality of radially projectingarms 300.;The arms 300 are provided 'at their outer ends with sweeps orblades 301 rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure4. The blades preferably are formed of resilient but relatively rigidmaterial so as not to mar caps and they serve to direct caps which moveinto agitator housing 285 past edge 287a against disc 64.

As has been indicated above, the container operated switch arm 68illustrated in Figure 2 as extendingalong tunnel 55, controls theoperation of motor 66 which drives hopper impeller blades 301 and disc64. It will be observed from Figure 2 that arm 68 is pivoted in ahousing 680 secured to the work table 52, and the arm is of such lengththat a single container will hold it outwardly during the time that thecontainer is moving a substantial distance within tunnel 55. Therefore,so long as containers are moving toward cap applying device 58reasonably spaced apart, arm 68 will be held out wardly and motor 66will drive the cap feeding elements.

r However, if no container engages arm 68, it will swing inwardly byspring pressure to the position shown in Figure 2, and motor 66 willcease operation. Guide bars, not shown, will hold containersupright'while they engage switch arm 68. r

The provision of the container controlled switch 68 for motor 66 willavoid over-feeding of caps to chute- 60 and the undue stirring of capsin hopper 62 which otherwise would occur during delays in the feeding ofcontainers.

As is indicated in Figure 3, motor 66 may be pivoted to thesuperstructure 100 in such manner that its weight will properly tensionthe belt 294 by means of which it drives the cap supply mechanism.

Referring to Figure 6, which is a horizontal section showing the upperwall 302 of the agitator housing 285, it will be observed that this wallof the housing is cut away to provide an opening 303 through which capsmay move upwardly from agitator housing 285 with the disc 64. The upperleft-hand portion of the agitator housing as viewed in Figure 4partially may be covered by a curved plate 385 extending from the disc64 to the opposite end wall of the agitator housing. In order to permitcaps to be removed fi'om the hopper when it is desired to operate withcaps of a different size, the hopper includes a door 386 pivoted at itslower edge 307 to the wall 277 of the hopper. Figures 3 and 4 show achute 3439 in phantom outline with its hooks 308 engaged in eyelets 310fixed to hopper Wall 277. By thus securing the chute 3G9 and thenswinging door 306 downwardly,

. caps readily can be removed from the hopper 62 into chute 309.

Disc 64 includes a body plate 315 which is of substantial thickness andis ribbed on its rearward face as indicated at 316 for bracing purposes.Adjacent its circumference, plate 315 is provided with acircumferentially only the lower right-hand portion of disc 64 so that'rotation of disc 64 in the direction of the arrow of that figure, andwith the magnetic inserts 317 arranged near the disc periphery, willcause caps which adhere to the disc to be moved upwardly above thehopper and laterally toward the infeed mouth of cap chute 6%. Becausethe infeed mouth of chute 60 is adjacent the vertical diameter of thedisc and the chute then diverges downwardly from the path followed bythe magnetic inserts, the inserts will not alfect caps which have movedinto the chute.

Other constructional features of the hopper 62 and disc involved in thepresent invention are described below in connection with the operationof the hopper.

With the disc 64 and the agitator blades 3G1 rotating in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 4 and in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Figure 8, as th caps slide downwardly in thehopper 62 toward disc 54,

4) of the travel of the disc 64, caps which become parallel to the discwill adhere to the sheet 318 by the action of the magnetic inserts.Obviously, a cap may adhere in parallel relationship to the disc eitherwith the edge of its skirt against the disc, which is the desiredposition, or with the skirt facing away from the disc. The action of themagnets may cause a cap lying directly against the disc to pick up asecond cap sothat the second cap will be superposed upon the first.Superposcd caps will be stripped from the cap which is immediatelyadjacent the disc 64 by the spring stripper arm 71 shown in Figures 4and 6. As is clear from Figure 6, the edge 329 of stripper arm 71 ispositioned sufficiently close to the adjacent surface of disc 64 thatonly one cap may move with disc 64 past stripper 71, any superposed capfalling back into the hopper.

As is best shown in Figures 4 and 6, a rim piece 323 extends upwardlyfrom the agitator housing 285 and lies immediately adjacent the forwardsurface of disc 64. As is indicated in Figures 4 and 6, a pair of plates330 and 331. lie parallel with the inner face of disc 64, the

ill

faces of the plates adjacent disc 64 being spaced from the disc surfaceby a distance corresponding to the height of the caps. These platesthereby insure that the caps on the upper portion of disc 64 and inreadiness for movement to the chute 69 cannot become nested by reason ofan accumulation of caps in that'area. The plates 339 and 331 aresupported by a cowling 332 which overlies the upper portion of disc 64,cowling 332 being fixed to the rim piece 323 and to a standard 334supported upon the agitator housing 285.

As shown in Figures 4-, 6 and 8, a cam block 72 is fixed to plate 33% soas to lie adjacent the forward surface of the disc, block 72 therebyprojecting into the line of travel of the magnetic inserts 317.Therefore, as a cap C moves upwardly with disc 64 by adherence to themag netic inserts, the cap will engage the lower surface 325 of block 72as indicated by the cap Cc in Figure 4 and so that the cap will beforced toward the axis of the disc by edge 325. However, the far edge326 of block 72 recedes from edge 3155 at an acute angle so that when acap reaches edge 326 (as indicated by the cap Cd of Figure 4) the capwill be free to move closer to the magnetic insorts and the edge of thedisc. It will be understood that caps at Cc and Cd still will be underthe influence of the magnetic inserts and hence will move along in acounterclockwise direction with the disc while in contact with the edges325 and 326 of the block. In normal operation, caps will accumulateadjacent the inlet of chute 60 and to the left of block 72 as indicatedin the upper portion of Figure 4. That is, some caps will lie in anupper are directly against the path of the magnetic inserts and othercaps may adhere thereto in a lower row or arc. Even though the abovecaps may be stationary for a few moments, depending upon the rate ofremoval of caps from chute 60, nevertheless, the rotation of disc 64beneath such caps will exert pressure upon them so that they all tend topush to the left in Figure 4. It will be observed from Figure 4 that theonly caps in a position to exert pressure on caps in the chute 60 arethose to the left of the block 72. In other words, the caps which havenot yet reached block 72 cannot press against the caps in the chutebecause block 72 diverts their pressure. This arrangement is desirablebecause if all of the caps being lifted by disc 64 were in an arcuateline leading directly to the mouth of the chute 60, a suliicientpressure could be built up in the chute to force caps from its lowerend.

in order that caps which are facing in the wrong direction will bereturned to the lower portion of the agitator housing 285, the disc 64has the selector or discriminator 76 associated therewith. As is bestillustrated in Figures 4, 6 and 8, the discriminator is an arm or stripof metal depending from a horizontal rod 335 mounted on a slide 333vertically adjustable in the standard 334 as hereinafter described. Asshown in Figure 6, the discriminator lies substantially in the plane ofthe plates 330 and 331 and outwardly of a horizontal guide bar 336 fixedto cowling 332. Bar 336 is a top guide bar in that it limits the upwardmovement of the caps. Throughout most of its length, arm 70 issubstantially parallel with disc 64. However, as illustrated in Figure7, the lower end of tip 337 of discriminator 70 is bent toward the disc64 and normally lies at a distance from the disc less than the height ofa cap skirt. The discriminator arm 70 is formed of spring metal so thatits lower portion may bend away from disc 64.

The operation of discriminator 70 is as follows: When a cap having itsskirt edge bearing against the disc 64 moves beneath discriminator 7d,the discriminator 70 will bend outwardly from the disc and its tip 337will ride upon the wall W of the cap. This action is assisted by thefact that the lower end of the discriminator is spaced below the topguide bar 336 by a distance less than the diameter of a cap C. Hence, acap moving along in contact with top guide bar 336 first will have thelower portion S (Figure 4) of its rounded periphery come into engagementwith the discriminator tip 337 so that the tip of arm 7% is, in elfect,cammed outwardly by the cap periphery. Therefore, the cap simply willmove to the left, with the tip 337 of arm 78 hearing on the top wall of;the cap and finally dropping off the trailing portion of the cap topwall.

In the event that a cap moving with disc 64 and along top guide bar 336has the edge of its skirt facing away from the disc 64, the tip 337 ofthe discriminator will be canlmed outwardly by the rounded edge of theskirt to climb over that edge. However, the continued movement of thecap to the left in Figure 4 will bring the inner wall of the skirtportion designated S in Figure 4 against the side edge of discriminatortip 337. Because this surface is substantially parallel to the facingedge of tip 337, the movement of the cap to the left with disc 64 willbe retarded. This retardation of the cap will be sufficient to releaseit from the magnetic insert 317 to which it has been adhering, so theresult will be that the cap will fall downwardly toward the bottom ofthe agitator housing 285. A cap having its skirt facing away from disc 6sometimes may hang on the discriminator tip for afew moments asindicated by the cap Ce of Figure4, and until the tip is moved'outwardlyagain by a succeeding cap but, in any=event, such a cap cannot again bepicked up by the magnetic inserts.

A Because discriminator 78 is vertically movable with the slide 333 andwith respect to top guide bar 336, the position of the tip 337 ofdiscriminator 70 with re spect to guide bar 336 can be varied inaccordance with the diameter of the caps being handled. It will be notedthat tip 337 always must be spaced below top guide bar 336 by a distanceslightly less than the diameter of the caps being handled.

Cap chute and cap applying element Figure 3 illustrates the cap chute 68as viewed from the front of the machine. It will be observed from thisview that the upper portion of the chute, that is, the portion above theadjusting bracket 34G, lies closely adjacent the forward surface of thedisc 64. Below bracket 340, chute 60 is curved upwardly so thatits lowerend and the cap applying elemenbSS will lie at the proper angle toenable the cap applying elements to position caps upon containers asindicated in Figure 13.

Figure 4 shows the cap chute 60 as viewed from the right or outlet endof the machine. That is, Figure 4 views Figure 3 from the rightpbutFigure 4 omits the cap applying element 58. As is illustrated in Figure4, the cap chute Gilgenerally may be described as comprising an "innerupper guide 345, an inner lower guide 346, and an outerv guide-347; Asis hereinafter described, the upper portion of chute 60 lies paralleland closely adjacentdisc 64 so that the disc there forms the bottom wallof the chute. 'Because the lower portion of chute 6! curves .awayfromdisc 64 as shown in Figure 3, a plate structure generally designated 348forms the bottom wall of the this portion of the chute.

The inner upper guide 345 includes a plate 356 which is pivoted at itsupper end to the slide 333 by means of a pin or screw 351. Onitsundersurface, plate 35%) has a channehmember 352 welded theretowith'the channel open toward disc 64. Channel member terminates aboutmidway ofthe length of plate 356. A bar member 353 lies beneath 'thelower portion of plate 359'and is enclosed by at least the lower portionof the length of channel member 352. Member 353 is pivoted at 354 to thelower inner guide 346. Plate 350-extends inwardly of the channel member352 and bar 353 to thereby overlie capswhich have their skirts bearingagainst the channel members.

The lower inner guide 346 includes a bar 356 and a plate 357, the barbeing adapted to be engaged by the cap skirts while the plate portion357,'like"the plate portion 350-, overlies the caps to retain them inthe chute. As Will be clear from a consideration of Figures 3 and 4,upper inner guide 345' 'lies flat and close against disc 64 but lowerinner guide 346 curves outwardly from disc 64.

The outer guide 347 includes a bar 358 which has its upper end notchedas indicated at 359 in Figure 3 to slidably engage a :complemental notchat the outer end of the top "or horizontally extending guide bar 336fixed to cowling 332'. Bar 358 extends the entire distance from topguide bar 336 to the cap applying element 58. Its upper portion liesclose to disc 64 but its lower portion curves outwardly as shown inFigure 3. a

At its upper'end, guide bar 358 extends beneath a plate 360 depending.from and secured to top guide bar 336, plate 36 thereby retaining capsin this portion of the chute. A plate 361 is positioned upon the bar 358below plate 360, the connection between plate 361 and bar 358 includingheaded screws in the bar and horizontal slots 362 in the plate.A'flat.'spring 363 secured to the edge of bar 358 normally holdsplate-361 in the position extending beyond bar 358 indicated in Figure4, to therebyretain capsin the chute. If it is desired to remove'capsfrom this portion ofthe chute, plate 361 may bemoved to the left-asviewed in Figure 4 against the action of spring 363. Bar 358 also has abowed spring 364 fixed to its inner and upper portion to deflect capsdownwardly.

A plate 365 is fixed to and overlies the-lower portion of bar 358 tocooperate with plate 357 in retaining caps in the lower portion of thechute.

As will be apparent from Figures 3 and 4, and'par-ticularly Figure 4,the disc64 forms the bottom wall of the upper portion of chute 60 inthat caps moving through that portion of the chute Will-have their skirtedges hearing on the disc. Generally speaking, the caps are strippedfrom the magnetic inserts by the bowed spring 364 at the upper end ofthe chute. Because chute 60 extends downwardly along a line inwardly ofthe path of travel of the magnetic inserts 317, the caps will movedownwardly in the chute and upon the disc entirely free of the magneticaction of the inserts. 4 that the ,upper portion of chute 60 anglesoutwardly from the vertical plane in which the disc axis lies, but thatthe lower portion of the chute extends parallel to the plane'of the discaxis but inwardly of the line of travel of the magnetic inserts. Thecurvature of the lower end of the chute away from the lower portion ofthe path of travel of disc 64' carries the caps well away from theeffect of the inserts.

With the lower portion of the chute curved away from disc 64 slightlybelow the upper end of the lower inner guide member 346, it is desirableto provide a stripper plate 366 at the upper portion of the chute bottomwall 348. Asillustrated in Figure 4, plate 366 is secured to a bracket367 fixed to the agitator housing 285, plate 366 being held to bracket367 by machine screws extending through apertures 368 (Figure 5) .at thelowermost corners of plate 366. As also is shown in Figure 5, stripperplate 366 includes an upwardly projecting and curved tongue 369 which,as shown in Figure 4, lies in a circumferential groove 370 formed on thefront face of disc 64. Plate 366 and its tongue 369 are slightlyconcaved on its side facing away from disc 64 with the result thattongue 369 may lie in groove 370. In addition, the upper portion ofplate 366 is beveled on its rearward surface asindicated at 371'andtongue'369 has its free end thinned toward its point. Also, the outerface of the upper edge of plate 366 is beveled as indicated at 372 andextends angularly downwardly from tongue 369. By this arrangement, capsmoving downwardly through the upper portion of chute 60011 disc 64 willbe stripped from the disc by riding up on the tongue 369 lying ingroove'3'l10,

the beveled edge 372 permitting the caps toslide readily It will benoted from Figure 9 includes a curved plate 373 secured at its uppermostedge to the bracket 367. The lower portion of plate 373 is secured to abar 374 (Figure: and 12) which, in turn, is secured below a bracket 375also shown in the lower portion of Figures 3 and 4 as bolted tosuperstructure 100. It will be noted from Figure 12 that bar 374 isspaced below bracket 375 by collars 376 which surround the screws whichhold bar 374 to bracket 375. Screws 377 hold plate 373 to the uppersurface of bar 374 and the collars 376 provide space between plate 373and the undersurface of bracket 375 for the guides 346 and 347. As isbest indicated in Figures 4 and 10, the lower end 380 of plate 373 iscut to V form in plan. Plate 373 is flat adjacent bracket 375 and thecap applying mecha nism 58, but lies at an angle of about 45 to thevertical.

Lower inner guide 346 and outer guide 347 are provided with tapped holesto receive studs 335 and 336, respectively, which project through slots387 extending crosswise of bracket 34d. Hand wheels designated 389 and399, respectively, are provided with studs 335 and 386 to thereby clampthe guides in adjusted position with respect to each other and brackets34! As is best shown in Figure 10, the lower ends of the lower inner capguide 346 and the outer cap guide 347 each are provided with a threadedaperture 391, and these apertures respectively are aligned with slots392 in bracket 375. As also shown in Figure 10, bolts 393 are threadedin the apertures 391 and the bolts are headed at their upper ends. Thebolts ordinarily are not tightened and, therefore, the two guides inquestion can be moved toward and away from each other upon loosening ofthe hand wheels 3323 and 3%.

In order to adjust the upper inner guide bar 345 for various sizes ofcaps, the slide 333 in standard 334 is moved vertically by rotation ofhandle 395 in the proper direction. Handle 395 is threadedly connectedto slide 333 in such manner that rotation of the handle will move theslide vertically. As has been stated above, the horizontal rod 335 whichsupports discriminator finger 70 also is secured to the slide. Slide 333includes a pointer 396 movable along a scale 397 fixed to the rear faceof standard 334. Scale 397 carries graduated markings corresponding tovarious cap sizes. Therefore, with pointer 396 aligned with a particularscale marking, both discriminator 7t) and the plate 350 and upperchannel 352 of the upper inner guide 345 will be at the proper heightwith respect to the top guide bar 336 to accommodate caps of a givensize. Because the two channel members 352 and 353 of upper guide 345 aretelescopically connected and the lower member 353 is pivoted at 354 tolower inner guide 356, the vertical movement of slide. 333 will slightlychange the angle of the upper inner guide 345 with respect to the lowerinner guide 346. This movement is possible because of the pivotconnections 351 and 354.

The cap applying device 58 is illustrated in detail in Figures 9 to 13and 14. The device of Figure 14 is adapted to handle caps of a largersize than the device of Figures 9 to 13 but bears like referencenumerals. As best shown in Figure 13, it generally may be described asincluding an upper body portion 460 which may be a casting of generallyU-shaped form in transverse section to thereby provide a cap passage 401defined by the undersurface of body 4% and the depending side walls orlegs 403 of the casting. The body 400 is provided at its upper end witha boss 4434 which is apertured to carry the shank of a hand wheel 405,the threaded bore of the hand wheel shank being adapted to engage athreaded stud 406 which extends vertically upwardly from the chutesupporting bracket 375. As shown in Figure 13, the underside of theupper end of body 400 is so cut away that a depending shoulder 4%! onthe body will engage against the upper edge 408 of bracket 375 and alower shoulder 409 on body 408 will bear upon the vertical and lowerface 410 on bracket 375. The surface 411 of body 400 10 betweenshoulders 407 and 409 will lie flat upon the upper surface 411' ofbracket 375.

As is evident from Figures 9 and 10, the lower end of the bar 358 of theouter cap guide 347 is stepped as viewed from above to include two endsurfaces 412 and 413 and both of these surfaces are inclined to thelength of the bar to thereby lie in a vertical plane or at least a planeparallel to the axis of the stud 466. The surface 412 is the outermostand lowermost surface of bar 358 and an inwardly facing shoulder 414 isthereby provided on bar 358 between the surfaces 412 and 413. The bar356 of the inner and lower cap guide 346 also has its lowermost endprovided with corresponding surfaces 412', 413, and 414, the surface 412being outermost and lowermost so that the surface 414' faces toward thecenter line of the chute.

As also appears in Figures 9 and 10, the ends of the 7 side walls 493 ofbody 408 which lie opposite the inclined and shouldered ends of the bars356 and 358 are shouldered and inclined to complement the bar surfaces.Hence, when cap applying element 58 is moved vertically downwardly uponthe stud 406 to the position illustrated in Figure 13, and the bars 356and 358 are properly adjusted, the opposed surfaces of the body 430 andthe bars 356 and 358 will snugly engage each other.

As is best shown in Figure 14, which is a bottom plane of a cap applyingelement 58, the bottom surface 429 of each side wall 403 has a plate 421secured thereto, the two plates thereby forming the bottom wall of thelower portion of the cap applying means. The opposed edges 422 of thetwo plates preferably are spaced apart but their edges 423a lie at suchan angle with respect to each other as to define a V. As is best shownin Figure 12, each of the plates 4 2i is provided with an upstandingshoulder 423 against which the lowermost cap in the chute will rest, itbeing necessary to lift the lowermost cap in the chute over theshoulders 423 to remove it from the chute. As indicated in Figures 9 and10, a retainer plate 424 pivoted on a pin 425 extending horizontallyacross body 400 normally holds the lowermost cap downwardly against theplates 421 and in contact with the stop shoulders 423. However, plate424 includes an upstanding ear 426 against which a spring 427 bears, theopposite end of the spring being mounted in a pocket 428 in body 4%.Hence, when a container mouth engages the lowermost cap C as indicatedin Figure 13, retainer plate 424 may swing upwardly against the actionof spring 427 to thereby permit the cap to be lifted over the shoulders423.

As has been stated above, and as is illustrated in Figure 4, thelowermost end of the bottom wall plate 373 is cut in plan to form a \iincluding a centrally projecting apex. The fact that the edges 423a ofthe plates 421 secured to body 4% are similarly formed will permit theedges 423:: of the plates 421 to snugly engage the ends of the chutebottom plate. The opposed edges of the chute bottom plate and the plates421 lie in vertical planes when the cap applying element is mounted uponthe chute because the opposed surfaces are bevelled. Because theadjoining edges are of J form in plan and hence do not extend directlycrosswise of the line of movement of the caps, caps cannot abut againstthe edge surfaces.

A cappin apparatus of the present invention ordinarily would be providedwith a number of cap applying elements 58 of the type illustrated inFigures 9 and 13 and 14, but each element 53 would be so formed as toprovide a cap passage 401 of a different width and to accommodate astandard size skirted cap. For example, it will be observed that theside walls 403 of the element 58 illustrated in Figure 14 have theirinner surfaces spaced further apart than the cap applying elementillustrated in Figures 9 to 13. However, the overall dimensions of allof the cap applying elements 58 supplied would be substantiallyidentical. By this arrangement, when the machine has been operating tohandle caps of one standard size, for example, a relatively large size,such asthe 70 mm. size, and it is thenxdesired to use the machine toapply a smaller size cap, for example, 38 mm. caps, the followingoperation will accomplish the adjustment: The operator will disengagethe threaded hand wheel '405 from the stud 5 36 on the bracket 375 sothat the large sized cap applying element 58 can be lifted directly fromthe end of the chute 69 by straight line vertical movement; Then theoperator will position a cap applying element 5?, for 38 mm. caps uponthe end of the chute and in the position illustrated in Figure 13, thehandle 405 of the new element 58 being engaged with the stud 4% and thesurfaces 307, 409, and 411 of the cap applying element being fittedagainst the corresponding surfaces ofthe bracket 375.

Then the operator would loosen the hand or clamping wheels 389 and 390so that the inner guide elements 345 and 346 and the outer guide element347 will be free for movement toward each other. The crank 395 shown atthetop of Figure 4 may be rotated to bring the pointer 3% (Figure 8)opposite the 38 mm. indicia on the gauge plate 397, thereby positioningthe detector or discriminator finger 70 at the proper height for 38 mm.caps and simultaneously positioning the inner guide rail 345 at theproper position with respect to top guide 336 to handle 38 mm. caps.When the operator then slides the inner lower guide 346 inwardly so thatits lower end shoulder 414' is in engagement with the opposed surface onthe cap applying element and with the outer edge 43-0 of the guide 346parallel to the inner edge 33i of the bottom wall of the chute as shownin Figure 4, the inner guide elements of the chute may be locked inposition by threading the hand wheel 339 to clamping position. When theouter guide rail 347 is moved inwardly to bring its bottom end surface414 (Figure 9) against the opposed surface of the cap applying elementand when the outer edge 432 of this guide is parallel to the outer edge433 of chute bottom wall 372, the outer hand wheel 3% may be tightened.to clamp the outer guide 347 in the proper position.

As indicated in Figure 4, the bottom wall elements 366 and 373 are of awidth to support the guides 346 and 347 when the latter are spread toaccommodate caps of maximum size.

it will be observed from the foregoing that the matter of changing thechute and cap applying means, as well as the detector or discriminatorfinger 70, to handle different sizes of caps, quickly can be performedand with a of operations,

The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose ofdescription and not for limitation as the scope of t invention isdefined in the claims.

We claim:

lfIn a cap applying mechanism, a cap chute comprising a bottom wall andside guide members movable with respect to each otheron said bottomwall, a supporting bracket for said bottom wall and adapted to be fixedto a machine frame to extend horizontally, the cap outfeeding ends ofsaid side guide members and said bottom wail being positioned adjacentthe outfeed side of said bracket, a cap applying element to receive capsrem outfeed end of said chute and position them upon containers movingbelow said element on the machi .e frame, said cap applying elementincluding a body provided with side walls and a bottom wall to therebyprovide a cap passage through the lower portion of said body, said bodybeing provided at its cap receiving end recesses including outwardlyfacing shoulders to rec yo and space apart the outfeed ends of saidguide members, said bottom wall being positioned in the plane cfthebottom wall of said chute, and means to secure said. guide members inadjusted position.

A mechanism. of the character described in claim 1 wherein theshouldered-recesses .of said cap applying element body open laterallyoutwardly.

3. A mechanism of the character described in claim 1 whereintheshouldered recesses of said cap applying element body open downwardly sothat the elementmay 5. A mechanism of the character defined in claim 4wherein said stud extends at an acute angle to said chute bottom wall,and said guide, members and recesses include opposed transverse surfacesextending parallel to said stud.

6. A mechanism of the character described in claiml wherein the capoutfeeding end of the chute bottom Wall is V-shaped in plan to provide acentrally projectingapex. 7. A mechanism of the character described inclaim 1 wherein the cap outfeeding end of the chute bottom wall isV-shaped in plan to provide a centrally projecting apex and the bottomwall of the cap applying element is formed of two plates, each providedwith an edge complementary to the adjoining edge of said bottom wall.

8. A mechanism of the character described in claim 1 wherein said chuteguide members lie entirely above the chute bottom wall.

9. In a capping apparatus, a cap hopper, means-to feed caps in ahorizontal stream from said hopper and in edgewise relation, a chute toreceive the horizontally moving caps and feed them downwardly, saidchute including a pair of cap guiding members, one positioned directlyin the path of horizontal outfeeding movement of the caps with saidmeans so as to divert the caps downwardly, the second guide memberhaving its upper end, below therhorizontal path of the caps with saidmeans;

and means to adjust said second guide member with-respect to thehorizontal path of the caps with said capv feeding means.

10. A capping apparatus of the character described in. claim 9 whereinsaid guide members aremovable toward. and away from each other, andmeans to secure said members in adjusted position.

11. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 9 whereinsaid guide members are movable toward and away from each other, saidsecond guide member is longitudinally telescopic, and means to securesaid.

members in adjusted position.

12. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a disc at oneend of said hopper rotatable in a vertical plane, said disc having itsplanar face opening to said hopper provided with magnetic inserts towhich caps will adhere and arranged in a circumferential series of suchradius as to be movable upwardly in a path above the caps in saidhopper, a guide bar fixed with respect to said hopper at the upperportion of said path and adapted to be engaged by cap skirts to maintaincaps moving with said disc at a predetermined distance from the discaxis, and a spring detent urged toward the planar face of said disc,said spring detent being spaced from said bar and toward the disc axisby a distance less than a cap diameter, and said detent normally beingspaced from the disc planar face by a distance less than the height of acap skirt. a

13. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a disc at oneend of said hopper rotatable in a vertical plane, said disc having'itsplanar face opening to said hopper provided with magnetic inserts towhich caps will adhere and arranged in a circumferential series of suchradius as to be movable upwardly in a pathv above the caps in saidhopper, a guide bar fixed with respect" assepav 14. A capping apparatusof the character described in claim 13 wherein the free end of saidspring arm is spaced from said guide bar by a distance substantiallygreater than the radius of the caps but less than the cap diameter.-

15. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 13 whereinthe free end of said spring arm is spaced from said guide bar by adistance substantially greater than the radius of the caps but less thanthe cap diameter, and said guide bar has its cap engaging surface lyingimmediately adjacent the path of travel of said magnetic inserts.

16. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 13 includingmeans to support said spring arm for adjusting movement toward and fromthe axis of said disc.

17. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 13 includinga cap chute formed of spaced cap skirt engaging guide rails, said chutehaving its cap receiving inlet positioned beyond said arm andimmediately below said guide bar so that said guide bar forms the outercap guide rail of the chutev 18. A capping apparatus of the characterdescribed in claim 13 including a cap chute formed of spaced cap skirtengaging guide rails having its cap receiving inlet positioned beyondsaid arm and immediately below said guide bar so that said guide barforms the outer cap guiding rail of the chute, including means tosupport the inner cap guiding rail of said chute and said spring arm foradjusting movement with respect to the axis of said disc.

19. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a disc at oneend of said hopper rotatable in a vertical plane, said disc having itsplanar face opening to said hopper provided with magnetic inserts towhich caps will adhere and arranged in a circumferential series of suchradius as to be movable upwardly in a path above the caps in saidhopper, a cap receiving chute including spaced cap skirt engaging guiderails including a portion lying in a plane adjacent said planar face ofsaid disc and extending along lines substantially tangential to thecircular path of travel of the magnetic inserts and above the caps insaid hopper, and a cap skirt engaging flange fixed above said hopper andprojecting over said disc planar face in advance of the chute inlet tohold caps moving with said disc and adjacent said flange in a pathcloser to said disc axis than said chute.

20. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a disc at oneend of said hopper rotatable in a vertical plane, said disc having itsplanar face opening to said hopper provided with magnetic inserts towhich caps will adhere and arranged in a circumferential series of suchradius as to be movable upwardly in a path above the caps in saidhopper, a cap receiving chute including spaced cap skirt engaging guiderails including a portion lying in a plane adjacent said planar face ofsaid disc and extending along lines substantially tangential to thecircular path of travel of the magnetic inserts and above the caps insaid hopper, to thereby remove caps from the magnetic inserts, saidchute including a second and lower portion lying adjacent said disc butpositioned out of the path of travel of the magnet inserts, a thirdportion inclined away from the plane of said disc, and means positionedforward of the inlet of said chute to move caps momentarily out ofalignment therewith whereby pressure on caps in said chute from caps inthe path of said hopper is at a minimum.

21. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a disc at oneend of said hopper rotatable in a vertical plane, said disc having itsplanar face opening to said hopper provided with magnetic inserts towhich caps will adhere and arranged in a circumferential series of suchradius as to be movable upwardly in a path above the caps in saidhopper, and a spring stripper arm fixed with respect to said hopper andabove the caps in the hopper, said arm including an edge parallel to andspaced from the planar face of said disc by a distance greater than theheight of a single cap but less than the height of two caps.

22. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a capconveyor movable through said hopper, said conveyor having its faceopening to said hopper provided with spaced magnetic inserts to whichcaps will adhere, and a spring arm supported adjacent said conveyor,said arm having its free end bent toward said face of said conveyor toengage the interior of a cap moving along said conveyor with its skirtfacing away from the conveyor to cam the cap off of the magneticinserts.

23. In a capping apparatus for skirted caps, a cap hopper, a capconveyor movable through said hopper, said conveyor being provided withmagnetic inserts spaced lengthwise thereof on a given line, a capreceiving chute including spaced cap skirt engaging guide rails incontact with said conveyor and extending in alignment with the path oftravel of the magnetic inserts, and a cap skirt engaging blockprojecting over said conveyor in advance of the chute inlet to hold capsmoving with the conveyor in a path out of alignment with said chute.

24. In capping apparatus, a cap hopper, a disc mounted for rotationthrough the caps in said hopper, said disc being provided on one planarface with a circular series of magnetic inserts to which caps in thehopper will adhere, said planar 'faee being provided with a circulargroove adjacent the series of inserts, a fixed chute to receive capsfrom the planar face of said disc and including an inlet mouth alignedwith the circular series of inserts, said chute including a stripperblade positioned in the planar face groove.

25. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 24 whereinthe planar face groove is of less diameter than the circular series ofinserts and the stripper blade is mounted in the chute at a point spacedfrom the chute inlet mouth.

26. In a capping apparatus, a cap hopper, a disc mounted for rotationthrough the caps in said hopper, said disc being provided on one planarface with a circular series of magnetic inserts to which caps in thehopper will adhere, a fixed chute to receive caps from the disc andincluding an inlet mouth aligned with the circular series of inserts,and a fixed member overlying the planar face of the disc at a pointspaced in advance of the chute inlet mouth, said member extendingsufliciently into the path of caps with said inserts to deflect caps outof alignment with said chute inlet mouth but without entirely removingthe caps from the inserts.

27. In a capping apparatus, a cap supply hopper, means movable in saidhopper to feed caps therefrom, a chute to receive caps from said capfeeding means, a container supporting conveyor movable beneath saidchute, means on said chute and above said conveyor to apply caps tocontainers supported on said conveyor, means to drive said conveyor,means to drive said cap feeding means, means responsive to the presenceof containers on said conveyor to control said last-mentioned drivingmeans and rotatable means to secure to the containers caps applied bysaid applying means, said securing means being driven by said conveyordriving means.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kirkegaard Feb. 8, 1910 Gaynor Nov. 16,1920 5 Everett June 1, 1937 Newey Apr. 23, 1940 16 Hurley 2. May 29,1945 DrW-- Oct. 27, 1953 Schweizer 2 Nov; 10, 1953 Courtney Apr. 6, 1954Haynes Apr. 27, 1954

